Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance his Department provides to clinical commissioning groups on the storage and disposal of embryonic waste following IVF treatment.

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) is the United Kingdom national regulator for the provision of in vitro fertilisation (IVF). Clinics cannot provide IVF or store gametes and embryos unless they have a licence to do so from the HFEA.

The HFEA’s code of practice (a copy is attached) gives guidance to clinics on the sensitive handling of embryonic material following IVF. It advises that this should be done in a manner that takes account of the special status of the human embryo.